URBANIZATION

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Transcript of URBANIZATION

The process of urbanization in the United States was not beneficial on the surface because of the discrimination of immigrants and oppression of the proletariat but was beneficial overall because the works of Robber Barons and the result of urbanization led to progress in America. Urbanization Immigration & Nativism In the late 1800s and early 1900s, over 2 million immigrants came to America, “the land of opportunity”. Most were illiterate and impoverished so they accepted basically any job offered, even for low pay, so employment for nativists were harder. New immigrants were viewed as wage depressing, “culturally and religiously exotic hordes”. Social Darwinists believed that immigrants were genetically inferior. Nativists feared of being outbred and outvoted and many anti-immigration groups formed. The Political machines and immigrants worked hand in hand as the political machines helped immigrants by providing jobs, houses, food and clothing in return for the immigrants’ votes. Mark Twain wrote,“The external glitter of wealth conceals a corrupt political core that reflects the growing gap between the very few rich and the very many poor.” As more and more immigrants came, industrial workers were replaced and the political machines became more and more wealthy Oppression of the Proletariat Klu Klux Klan and the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League Chinese immigrants are prohibited from testifying against whites in California courts. Naturalization Act limits American citizenship to "white persons and persons of African descent," barring Asians from U.S. citizenship. Chinese Exclusion Act restricts Chinese immigration Alien Contract Labor Law bars prohibited any company or individual from bringing foreigners into the United States under contract to perform labor here. Congress makes polygamists, persons suffering from a disease, and convicts ineligible for immigration. American Protective Organization (APA) 1887- anti-foreign organization, urged voting against Roman Catholic candidates for office Immigration increased during the late 19th century as immigrants from Europe and Asia looked for jobs due to overcrowding, Europe’s population increase due to abundant supplies from America and cultivation of the potato, high unemployment ,urbanization of Europe, persecutions of minorities. However, the conditions of America was similar to that of Europe. In the "American River Ganges" cartoon, Nast, an editor of Harper's Weekly, portrays the Roman Catholic Clergy as alligators. This shows that American Protestant didn't want the Catholics to immigrate to America, risk theocracy, and corrupt the minds of their children. The Americans tried strenuously to reduce immigration to "the land of the free" through literacy tests, which are portrayed as high barriers which are almost impossible to climb over. Nativists accused immigrants of being criminals, socialists, anarchists, etc. and used the immigrants as scapegoats. They also ridiculed the federal government and Congress for not restricting the immigrants. Attempts to Restrict Immigration Though most Americans resisted immigration, the immigrants as a labor source was necessary. Immigrants worked on railroads which led to better transportation and habitation of the West. Because they worked for less pay and generally worked harder, businesses were allowed to rake in large profits while spending less on paying employees and the US economy could grow. Robber Barons The Gilded Age can also be called the age of Robber Barons, since they were the industrial leaders. Robber Barons made up schemes where their different corporations could come together to gain control of markets, get rid of competition, create monopolies, and then raise prices, profits and power to extreme levels. Some main and powerful industrialists are John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil), J.P. Morgan (finance), Andrew Carnegie (steel), and Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroads). The trusts that they created, created both great wealth and power for the robber barons but also poverty for the working people in America. They were portrayed negatively and probably in fact seem to be cruel, self-centered, manipulators and exploiters but the Robber Barons' monopolies provided jobs for immigrants, set the economic basis for America. Most robber barons became philanthropists and donated most of their profits to benefit society. “Whatever else may be said of them – and there is much to be said – they created real and enduring wealth. Moreover, the wealth they created benefited all Americans.” -Ray Russolillo Philanthropy and Robber Barons In 1902 Carnegie founded the Carnegie Institution to fund scientific research and established a pension fund for teachers with a $10 million donation. He supported education so he gave money to towns and cities to build more than 2,000 public libraries, gave $125 million to a foundation called the Carnegie Corporation to aid colleges and other schools. He was also an advocate of world peace so he established the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and funded the building of the Hague Palace of Peace. A total of 90 percent of his fortune was donated.Vanderbilt donated $50,000 to the Church of Strangers in New York City and 1 million to Vanderbilt University.Rockefeller gave away more than $530 million to various causes which was more than half of his fortune. His money helped pay for the creation of the University of Chicago, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, and the Rockefeller Foundation. “Widespread in American historical writing is the idea that business leaders in the US from about 1865-1900 were , on the whole, a set of avaricious rascals who habitually cheated and robbed investors and consumers, corrupted government, fought ruthlessly among themselves, and in general carried on predatory activities comparable to those of the robber barons of medieval Europe.” -Hal Bridges Bridges states the "myth" that the robber barons were greedy and corrupt but this was only how they appeared superficially. It is clear that the industrialists made a lot of money but more importantly, the large profit that they made was donated to causes like world peace, city building, and education. The slyness of the robber barons led them to create laws and use systems that would help ensure they had a monopoly. For example, Leland Stanford used his political connections to have the state pass laws prohibiting competition for his Central Pacific railroad. Also, prices of railroads were hiked up since the monopolies wanted to make a lot of money and the farmers needed the railroads to transport their goods. Vanderbilt created the strategy of offering bargain rates that either drove his rivals out of business or forced them to pay him to withdraw.Rockefeller's use of the technique of horizontal integration allowed him to "absorb" other weaker competitors. The robber barons exploited workers (which included women and children) and paid them really low wages. This cartoon shows the "railroad giants" Vanderbilt, Gould, and Fields. The railroad trust had a lot of control over the railroad lines. Vanderbilt created the strategy of offering bargain rates that either drove his rivals out of business or forced them to pay him to withdraw (making his line the most powerful). This is a commentary on the power of the Standard Oil empire, which controlled 90% of the refining business in the late 19th century. Rockefeller made huge profits by paying his employees extremely low wages and driving his competitors out of business by selling his oil at a lower price than it cost to produce it This political cartoon shows the greediness of the trusts by showing them as big men and shows how much the trusts had control over the government and country. The trusts wanted to ensure they had a monopoly by getting Congress to pass laws. Though their main motive was to self enrich and gain wealth and though sometimes the way they gained their wealth was unethical, their accumulated wealth benefited the nation as a whole. Generally, robber barons followed Carnegie's beliefs, stated in his "Gospel of Wealth", and donated much of their profits to give back to society. In the end, the robber barons gave back more than they "stole" from the nation by helping the nation progress educationally and economically and contributing to the beautification of the cities. This is a photograph by Jacob Riis of the living condition in a tenement house in the late 19th century. These were dark, cramped, and had little sanitation or ventilation. The living conditions were horrid. People lived in cramped slums and dumbbell tenements. The city had impure water, uncollected garbage, unwashed bodies, and droppings which made it highly unsanitary. Also, criminals flourished which was unsafe in a different manner. By 1870 sanitation was a priority of city administration. In addition to poor working conditions, there was exploitation of child labor. In rural areas, children would have worked long hours with hard work for their families farms, but in the cities, the children worked longer hours with harder work for large companies. Child labor was poorly regulated so injury was common. Factories used child labor since they could pay children a fraction of what they paid adults and children were easier to take advantage of. In the factories, women routinely faced discrimination. Employers commonly paid women one-half to two-thirds of what a man doing the same job received. If a woman was injured on the job, she got no workers' compensation or health care benefits, and was usually just fired. Women routinely worked in the horrible conditions for twelve to fourteen hours per day, six days per week. Working conditions weren't very good during this time. The supply of workers was bigger than the demand for workers. For unskilled laborers weekly wages of ten dollars or less and a workday of ten hours or more were common. Also, working conditions in factories were unhealthy and often dangerous. Factories were not heated or air-conditioned. Most of the factories also lacked sufficient light and ventilation. Economic growth was a main priority during the period of urbanization so sanitation was not of much importance until 1870. There was poor lighting (which contributed to injuries) in factories and it was cramped and tight. This was the reason disease was easily spread throughout this time period. The horrible working conditions during the period of urbanization led labor unions to form. The American Federation of Labor, National Labor Union, and the Knights of Labor formed to help get shorter hours but the goals of the labor unions weren't met until later on in the 20th century. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the labor force was a low paying, dangerous, and often dirty place. It was the common trend for most of the regular working class. In this working class the people are unhappy with both the work they do and the amounts they get paid. This class suffered the most (alongside the immigrants) as a result of urbanization. However, because the workers were paid so little, the owners could then fund public works to better sanitation (robber barons). As a result of urbanization and industrialization, a large factory working middle class formed who were harassed by their bosses, treated poorly, and worked and lived in horrible conditions. The oppression of the proletariat created issues between the factory owners and the workers which were shown through strikes such as the Homestead Strike. City Beautiful Movement The City Beautiful Movement was an attempt by architects in the late 19th century and early 20th century to create a sense of organization and decency in American urban design during a time when land was being controlled by urban ideas. Architects, such as Daniel Burnham, felt that these architectural advances were necessary if American cities wanted to create better urban environments for the people. The City Beautiful leaders (upper-middle class, white, male), believed the emphasis should be on creating a beautiful city, which would then inspire its people to moral and civic virtue. Not Beneficial The movement was an architectural expression of the response of the people to failing urban life. The City Beautiful advocates wanted to improve their city through beautification, which would inspire the poor and a more inviting city center still would not bring the upper classes back to live, but certainly to work and spend money in the urban areas. The projects addressed specific problems caused by rapid urbanization like, Improving the water supply, controlling sewage, providing public park systems, and transportation. Cities before the movement and plans for the movement The City Beautiful Movement was made possible by some donations from the robber barons. The ideas used during this movement influence most of today's urban planning and designs. The City Beautiful Movement was beneficial to society because it addressed some of the issues with the living conditions and sanitation and made the city more appealing to consumers and visitors. Economic Growth America's economy grew by more than 400% between 1860 and 1900Growing cities provided markets and workers for industrial businessesThe new railroads and steam powered technology helped create a international integrated market Starting in 1800, the US economy gradually and continuously grew (with a minor downfall during the Great Depression). Social Progression/Movements Works Cited "American Fascism: The Robber Barons Return." Adasks Law. Wordpress.com, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. "The American River Ganges." HarpWeek. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. Bridges, Hal. "The Robber Baron Concept in American History." (n.d.): 1-13. Journeytohistory.com. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. Chambliss, Julian C. "Beautification and Regional Identity: Conflict and Compromise in the United States during the City Beautiful Era." Chambliss Beautification. Rollins College, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. "Charitable Nation." Charitable Nation. N.p., 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. "City Beautiful - Planning History of San Francisco." Planning History of San Francisco. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. "The City Beautiful Movement." The City Beautiful Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. "City Beautiful Movement." The New York Preservation Archive Project |. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. "The Gilded Age Defined." Saint Louis University. Saint Louis University, 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. "Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. Hartman, Dorothy W. "Conner Prairie Interactive History Park." Lives-Of-Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. How America Changed in the Late 1800s. Workers and Farmers Attempt to Solve Their Problems. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. <Workers and Farmers Attempt to Solve Their Problems>. Klein, Richard. "An Overview of the City Beautiful Movement as Reflected in Daniel Burnham's Vision." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. "Labor Developments in the Late 19th Century." Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. Mason. "Urbanization and Immigration 1865-1900." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. Orelus, Marc Arthur. "America and Immigration Since the 1870s." America and Immigration Since the 1870s. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. Sowder, Adam. "The City Beautiful Movement." About.com Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. Walter, Will. "Working Conditions in the 19th Century: A Look at Primary Sources." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., 2008. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. "Women in the Industrial Workforce." Ohio History Central. N.p., 1999-2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. Because factories paid so little, women became prostitutes. The Social Purity Movement went against prostitution.Comstock Actallowed women to vote in some statesTemperance movement ; people wanted to decrease the number of saloons created in the cities Farm and Labor Campaigns Urbanization caused issues that these movements sought to fix while it also allowed more opportunities for some movements to gain more power and serve its purpose. Religion played less of a role in daily life ; Evolutionary theories that stated "Natural Selection had been the main but not exclusive means of modification" which had popular support but did not support the Bible (Genesis) which said that God made everything. The Evolutionary theory was more accepted. "They were too dirty, too ragged, and too generally disreputable, too well hidden in their slum besides, to come into line with the Fresh Air summer boarders. With such human instincts and cravings, forever unsatisfied, turned into a haunting curse; with appetite ground to keenest edge by a hunger that is never fed, the children of the poor grow up in joyless homes to lives of wearisome toil...." -Jacob Riis, How The Other Half Lives Jacob Riis comments on the effect of the environment (tenement homes and the neighborhood) on children, The children are deprived of basic necessities and live with discontent. (negative impact)